The Devil's Due and Other Stories: The Portal / Disfigured / Empathy / Epitaph (International Thriller Writers Presents: Thriller, Vol. 1)

The Devil’s Due by Steve BerryIn his fourth thriller, The Templar Legacy, Berry introduced Cotton Malone, a lawyer/agent who worked with the Justice Department for many years in a special unit known as the Magellan Billet. Deciding the risks were too great, Malone retires out early, moves to Copenhagen and opens an old-books shop. Unfortunately, trouble seems to follow Malone, and The Templar Legacy is just the first of several adventures Berry plans for Malone and the cast of supporting characters. The Devils' Due is a tale from before Malone retired, when he was still active with the Magellan Billet.Other StoriesThe Portal by John Lescroart and M. J. RoseJohn Lescroart is a bestselling writer of legal thrillers. M. J. Rose is a bestselling writer of thrillers about a sex therapist and her patients. Intersecting those two variations seemed like a difficult challenge, but that's exactly what The Portal does. Via e-mail from one coast to another, Lescroart and Rose explored the psyche and actions of Lucy Delrey, a young, disturbed woman who, at different points displayed facets that surprised both authors. Disfigured by Daniel Palmer and Michael PalmerPalmer has never before collaborated with another writer on a project, but Disfigured is co-authored with Daniel James Palmer, the middle of his three sons. Disfigured was actually Daniel's brainchild. And although Maura, the protagonist, is not a physician, the theme is medical, and like most of Michael Palmer's main characters, she's drawn unwillingly into the story.Empathy by James SiegelJames Siegel says the most common question he's asked by readers is, Where do you get your ideas? His standard answer is, I don't know—do you have any? The real answer, of course, is, Everywhere. Siegel tends to write about ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events. And then there was the day he was lying in a massage room at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. The mas- seuse touched his neck and said, What's bothering you? Siegel's response: How do you know something's bothering me? And she said, Because I'm an empath. Siegel was puzzled. An empath? What's that?Epitaph by Joe KonrathKonrath believes that a lot of the fun in writing a thriller series comes from the supporting characters. People are defined by the company they keep. Jack has a handful of sidekicks who both help and hinder her murder investigations. Phineas Troutt is one of the helpful ones. Introduced in Whiskey Sour, Phin operates out-side the law as a problem solver—someone who takes illegal jobs for big paydays. Jack is never quite sure what Phin does to earn a living. Konrath himself didn't know, but thought it would be fun to find out.